


Different

by fishpoets



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Homesickness, M/M, POV Multiple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28387425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishpoets/pseuds/fishpoets
Summary: Rayla has only been living with Runaan and Ethari for a week, and she's having trouble sleeping.It's going to take some adjustment for everyone.
Relationships: Ethari & Rayla & Runaan (The Dragon Prince), Ethari/Runaan (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 50





	Different

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this months ago then totally forgot about it...
> 
> this lil family makes me very emo ( v﹏v)~♥

Rayla couldn't sleep.  
  
She turned over in bed, twisting her fingers in the thick knitted blankets she had bunched up under her chin.  
  
They smelled wrong.  
  
These were the same soft blankets from her own bed at home, but Ethari had washed them today, and now the scent of them was all _wrong_.  
  
She tossed over again and buried her nose in the pillow. It also smelled wrong.  
  
Outside the wind whistled through the grove, stirring the branches, making them whisper amongst themselves. It had whistled this way every night she could remember, a natural soothing lullaby, but tonight the rhythm of it was different. Not the song or dance she knew. It'd been a week now and still she couldn't get used to it.

Around her the wood creaked and groaned as the tree-house settled, and those sounds were all different, too.  
  
Her dad hadn't been the one who told her a bedtime story. It hadn't been her mum who tucked her in and kissed her goodnight. They wouldn't be here when she woke up, wouldn't race her downstairs and tease and bicker and laugh over breakfast.  
  
She sniffed, clutching the blanket tighter.  
  
It wasn't that she wasn't proud! Both her parents had been chosen specially for the Dragonguard. That was the highest honour! Wasn't it? Or meant to be. Everyone kept telling her so.  
  
And it wasn't like she didn't like Uncle Ethari and Uncle Runaan, either. She did! They were both really nice to her, and taking good care of her, and...  
  
It was just... different. Spending a day out visiting with her uncles in the forge or the forest or the adoraburr meadows wasn't the same as living with them _all the time_.  
  
Being in their house wasn't the same, when her parents weren't just downstairs – when they were far, far away, and she was sleeping alone, and the shadows kept forming strange dark shapes that prowled across the walls. 

But there was no use lying around feeling sorry for yourself, mum always said. Better to get up and try and make things better.

_You're not a little kid any more, Rayla!_

She wiped her eyes and shuffled out from under the blankets, shivering in the cool air. Well, maybe she was still a kid, but she wasn't a _baby_. And she had to get some sleep, because Uncle Runaan _finally_ promised he would train with her but _only_ if she didn't yawn once all through breakfast, so-!  
  
She tiptoed out to the stairs. She'd just take a quick walk, a patrol around the house like dad did sometimes when he said his mind needed to settle, and then she would get right back into bed--  
  
A soft, dull thump broke the silence.

Rayla froze.

What was that-?

_An intruder?!_  
  
On silent feet she sneaked upwards. There was another thump, and this time she was close enough to pinpoint it. It came from behind Runaan and Ethari's door!  
  
Rayla's heart was pounding. She was definitely wide awake now! Were they being attacked?

Had an enemy assassin somehow broken into the Silvergrove, made it all the way here into the house under Runaan's guard?

She had to help them!

A Moonshadow elf's greatest asset was their stealth. Rayla slunk deeper into the shadows and crept up the stairs, higher and higher, until she was right outside the closed door to her uncles' bedroom. She held her breath and put her ear to the wood.

In the room beyond she heard a couple more of those dull thumps, quieter this time, like they were being muffled by cloth. And then--

-a laugh..?

Wait a moment, she knew that sound! That was Uncle Ethari's laugh!

All Rayla's breath left her in one great woosh. If Ethari was laughing that must mean everything was okay! What had happened? Had Runaan already driven away the assassin?

She had to know. She knocked on the door, and in her relief she forgot to wait politely for a response before she reached up for the latch and pushed the door open.

“Uncle Ethari?” she called. “Uncle Runaan?”

She didn't see them at first, only heard a funny scrabbling, shuffling noise before Ethari swooped in front of her. He scooped her up into his arms and spun her round. “Rayla!” he exclaimed, with a very wide smile. His cheeks were flushed deep. “Moonbeam, what are you doing up so late? Shouldn't you be in bed?”

“I heard a weird noise,” she told him. “Like thumping.” She twisted, trying to look over her shoulder to see Runaan and the rest of the room, but Ethari swayed her in his arms and she couldn't see right round. “Did you beat the other assassin?”

Ethari's smile twitched, his lips doing a strange wobble. “Assassin? What assassin, sweetheart? There's only your Uncle Runaan here, no one else.” Shifting his grip on Rayla he finally turned enough that she could see Runaan, who was stepping round from the other side of the bed. His cheeks were brightly flushed too, and his hair was hanging loose and a bit messy. Rayla had never seen it all out of its braid before. It was pretty. “See?” Ethari said. “He's fine. We both are.”

Runaan cleared his throat. The tunic he was wearing was wrinkled and a bit too big for him. It looked more like one of Ethari's. “No one has attacked us, Rayla,” he said. “We're all quite safe here, I assure you.”

“Oh.” She considered this a moment, then looked between her two uncles. “Then what was making the noise? What were you doing?”

“Training,” said Runaan, at the same time Ethari said, “Playing.”

They looked at each other.

“…Games can sometimes double as training exercises,” Runaan continued. “We were, um…”

“Runaan was teaching me how to properly pin down a skilled warrior such as himself,” Ethari finished for him.

“Yes. Right. Exactly. And how to break free from such a hold if necessary.”

Rayla nodded solemnly. That made sense. It seemed like a useful sort of thing to know.  
  
“We should, ah, practice more quietly in the future, if we woke you,” Runaan said.

Rayla shook her head. Before they left her parents had made her promise to not hide things from her uncles – to try and be honest, even if it was hard, and tell them if she was hurt or upset or scared, just like she would tell her mum or dad.

She dropped her head to Ethari's shoulder. It was broad and warm and comfortable, a place she knew from experience made a great place to nap. She already felt more relaxed than she had been. “I was awake anyway,” she admitted.

Ethari bounced her slightly in his arms. “Bad dream?”

“No. Just couldn't sleep.”

Runaan was frowning. Rayla nibbled her thumbnail. “Does this mean I can't train with you any more?” she asked him.

Ethari and Runaan shared one of those wordless looks that adults sometimes did. "I think our Runaan can make an exception this once, don't you?” said Ethari, with a lopsided smile. "Rayla's shown bravery tonight, after all. Shouldn't that be rewarded?”

Runaan hummed a long note. “True enough. Very well.” He crossed his arms. “I will be lenient, Rayla, provided you go back to bed now, and get plenty of rest. Training is arduous; I won't go easy on you.”

Rayla looked over Ethari's shoulder at the door. The house was safe, she knew that now, but she didn't want to go back to her room all by herself, with the strange shadows and sounds. “Can I stay here with you?” she pleaded. Her uncles exchanged another glance. “Just for tonight! Please?”

“Rayla...”

“I know I'm not a baby anymore! I just don't want…”

She bit her lip, swallowed against the weird lump in her throat. Her uncles were both staring at her now. She ducked her head back under Ethari's chin.

“Hey, moonbeam.” Ethari adjusted her in his arms, brought one hand up to stroke down her back. “What's wrong? Can you tell us?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. …It's stupid.”

“I doubt that. Tell us anyway?”

“It's just that the bed's different and the trees are different and – and I like it here with you! I do! But – but I keep thinking about mum and dad, and how they're so far away-- I know they're protecting us, protecting all of Xadia, but-!”

The words burst out in a sob.

“But they left me behind! Every time I try to sleep I keep seeing their backs as they walk away, and I try to talk to them, to say goodbye or ask them not to go, but they don't hear me and they leave without me and I don't know when I'm ever going to see them again--”

She buried her face in Ethari's shirt and shook.

“Oh, Rayla...” Ethari squeezed her tighter. “I know it's hard. You're being very brave. It's always scary when the people we love have to leave us and our home for a while.”

Rayla sniffled and scrubbed her wet face, and saw that Runaan had turned away, looking down at the floor.

“But leaving doesn't mean they don't still love us,” Ethari went on. “Your parents wouldn't want you to be sad. I promise, even though they're far away right now, they're thinking about you. They miss you just as much as you miss them. And more than anything, they want you to be safe and to be happy.”

Runaan stepped close and put a hand on Ethari's other shoulder. “You can stay with us, Rayla,” he said lowly, with that intense look in his eyes he got when he was being very serious. “At least for tonight.”

Ethari leaned into his palm. “Yeah. And maybe tomorrow we can see about making your room more cozy, how's that sound?”

Her head felt thick and stuffy. She scraped her lip between her teeth, took in a shaking breath, and nodded.

Ethari helped her get washed up and settled into the big soft bed. Runaan combed out his hair and loosely rebraided it for sleep, checked the windows and put out the lights, then joined them, sliding into the sheets on Rayla's other side.

It was warm, tucked safe between them. Ethari kept stroking her hair. His hands were big, bigger than her mum's and broader than her dad's, and always gentle. The brush of his palm over her ear felt nice. Maybe you learned it at a forge, she thought, feeling the rise of drowsiness that had escaped her all day; learned how to pull up the warmth that hid itself in other people. Like stoking a flame.

Her eyes grew heavy.

She let them drift shut, let her weight sink into the bed.

These blankets didn't smell like home, either. But they felt like love all the same.

⋆✲*⋆ **☽** ⋆*✲⋆

“Is she asleep?”

Runaan leaned back a little to check. Rayla's face was slack, her small body heavy with the leaden quality of those deep in dreams, completely still if not for the slow rise and fall of her ribs as she breathed.

“Fast asleep,” he confirmed. Her sensitive ears didn't twitch at their low voices, nor did her eyes even flicker behind their delicate lids.

“She must be worn out, poor thing.”

“It's been a stressful week.”

“Especially for her.”

Runaan frowned down at the top of her white head. “Do you think it was the right decision?”

“Hm? What was?”

“Lain and Tiadrin, leaving her with us,” he said slowly. “If she's so upset, after only one week…”

“She's homesick, Runaan,” Ethari reminded him softly. “That's all this is. She just needs some time and space to grieve; with care, and patience, she'll be alright.”

“I'm glad you're here doing this with me,” Runaan murmured. “I do like seeing you with her.”

“I love you too. So stop brooding about doing a good enough job, okay? It'll be fine.”

Runaan arched a brow. “I'll trust your judgement. Life is certainly proving to be interesting with her always around.”

Ethari hummed. He looked up across the pillows, a dimple appearing in one smooth cheek. “That was a close one, eh? Didn't even hear her until she was already at the door.”

“She has a natural talent,” Runaan agreed. He could hear the pride in his own voice. From the way Ethari's dimple deepened it must have been obvious to him, too. “A lot of potential.”

“Uh-huh. And how does it feel to have a small child get the drop on you, oh great Master of Assassins?”

Runaan glowered half-heartedly at him. “It's your fault," he informed him. "You were being distracting.”

“And here I thought an assassin was supposed to be on full alert at all times,” Ethari baited, hoping to draw out the beginnings of the smile playing at the corners of his husband's mouth. “Besides, it didn't seem to me like you were complaining at the time.”

Runaan huffed. “Everyone thinks you're so sweet, but in reality you're a merciless tease.”

“You like it.”

“Mmm, I do, I confess.”

Amusement sparkled in Ethari's amber eyes. “I don't think I've ever seen you get dressed so fast,” he whispered. “Not even that time your mentor stumbled upon us in the bushes--”  
  
Runaan let out a low groan and covered his face with one hand. “Moon above, must you remind me? I'd almost managed to forget about that.”  
  
Ethari chuckled. “Just be glad 'thumping' is all Rayla overheard. Else we'd be having a whole different sort of conversation right now. A far more awkward one.”

“Don't even joke about that, Ethari.”

“Well, we are going to have to give her The Talk one day, you realise. In all likelihood.”

“Not for years yet! Don't hasten it before it's necessary.”

“Alright, alright.” Ethari chuckled again. “I won't traumatise you any more.”

“ _Thank_ you.”  
  
They fell quiet. The only sounds were of them breathing together, the faint whistle of Rayla's breath through her nose, the gentle touch of the breeze through the leaves outside their home.  
  
Ethari glanced across the bed, over Rayla's small form tucked in close to him, to his husband on her other side, all the lovely edges of him outlined in silver.  
  
Runaan dropped his hand and stared up at the ceiling. A faint tension to his features was all that signaled his thoughts had once again taken a melancholic turn. Anyone else probably wouldn't have noticed the difference, but Ethari knew. He could always tell.   
  
With his arms already occupied holding Rayla, Ethari couldn't gather him close like he usually would. Instead he sought out Runaan's legs under the covers with his own, rubbed the bare arch of his foot against Runaan's shin in attempt to soothe.

“Love?”  
  
Runaan sighed. He rolled over on to his side to face them, pressing his leg into the touch before gently capturing Ethari's foot between his calves, and paused like that, his brow finely furrowed. “I miss you,” he said. A quick twinge pulled across his lips, like a placeholder for a smile. “Silly, isn't it? You're right here, I see you all the time, and yet...” 

“I don't think it's silly,” Ethari said quietly. “Things are very different now; it's only natural there would be a... period of adjustment. For all of us,” he added, circling the hand he had resting on Rayla's back.

“You seem to be taking it all in stride. Far moreso than I.”

“That doesn't mean I'm finding this easy. Or simple.” At his partner's doubtful look he insisted, “Runaan, we've essentially just become full-time parents. And we didn't even get nine months of warning to prepare ourselves. Trust me, love, you're not the only one feeling – out of depth.”

Runaan plucked a wayward strand of hair out of Rayla's face and tucked it neatly behind her ear. He settled his slighter hand over Ethari's on Rayla's shoulder. “It isn't that I'm not glad to have her,” he murmured. “I love her. For Lain and Tiadrin to have entrusted us with her care is the greatest honour. I would not so easily change or discard this.”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“So why...”  
  
Ethari shrugged one shoulder. “At a guess? Because we're both used to spending almost all our free time and attention on each other. And now it has to be shared.”  
  
“...Hm.”  
  
“Anyway, it's only been a week. We'll get used to this. Rayla will get settled soon enough; she'll start sleeping soundly again, and then we'll have our nights back to ourselves. And in the meanwhile...” Ethari wrapped Runaan's hand in his own, brushed a circle over the back of it with his thumb. “Will you have any free time tomorrow? I could take a long lunch, we could sneak off, find somewhere to be alone together...”  
  
Runaan puffed a sharp breath through his nose. “Is this what it's come down to? Scheduling-” he glanced down at Rayla- “ _affection_ with my own husband?”  
  
“No one else's husband, I hope.”  
  
He grinned, shaking slightly with repressed giggles as Runaan rolled his eyes and shot him a withering look. “Hey, it could be fun! Like back when we first started courting and we hadn't yet told anyone. Remember? All that sneaking around...”

“As I recall that's exactly how we got caught by my mentor,” Runaan said dryly.

“Only because we weren't being sneaky _enough_.”

The smile Runaan had been gamely resisting broke free across his lips. “I will make time for you,” he vowed. “But for now, we should follow the little one's example and get some sleep ourselves. It'll be an early start for us all.”

"You're right." Ethari lifted Runaan's hand to his lips, kissed the backs of his long, elegant fingers. “There's no need to fret, my love," he promised. "It'll be alright. We'll figure this out together.”


End file.
